As the European Commission sketches out its vision for the future of plastic production and pollution in its new strategy, the EU executive's environment chief, Karmenu Vella, explained how developments in China, Africa and Europe itself have shaped its plastics roadmap.

At the latest United Nations environment summit, pollution topped the agenda. The man leading the UN’s quest to clean up the planet hopes this meeting will act as the wake-up call countries need and that the fight will include the world of business.

The EU is in the process of reviewing its entire framework for development cooperation, to incorporate the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change - but there must be 'red lines', Oxfam tells EURACTIV.com.

Israel is one of the world leaders in water desalination. But now it faces a new challenge - climate change. EURACTIV.com spoke with the Deputy Director General of Israel's Water and Sewage Authority, Oded Fixler.

Growing market requirements for ‘green procurement’ is driving sustainability, but the success of voluntary corporate sustainability initiatives depends on the attitude and enthusiasm of businesses to live up to higher standards, says Tony Calton.

Droughts, poor land use and water access have all contributed to recent volatility in food prices and regional food emergencies. To address such insecurity in food supplies, good water management and governance – as well as reliable early warning systems – are needed, says Jens Berggren, who heads World Water Week that begins on 26 August in Stockholm.

Having safe drinking water should be a basic human right, but consumers and governments also have a duty to set a price high enough to encourage efficiency, says Hans Telgan, who heads Europe’s plastic pipe industry trade association TEPPFA.

Many of the water systems in major cities around the world, including in developed countries, have losses of 30-40%, says Lars H. Thunell of the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC). And that’s not viable, he insists, so we have to make sure we invest.

After years of trying to persuade consumers that their products present no health or environmental risk, the pesticides industry has now recognised its failure to address wider society concerns. Friedhelm Schmider of industry group ECPA promises "a huge change of mindset" in engaging with consumers and farmers.

Europe's freshwaters are increasingly filled with pharmaceutical residues and other micro-pollutants, which are potentially harmful to human health and the environment, warns Friedrich Barth from the European Water Partnership (EWP), a research group.

Large multinational food companies are currently looking at indicators farmers could use to show progress in saving water. Peter Erik Ywema of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, an industry platform, spoke to EURACTIV in an interview.

To face the challenge of water scarcity, the world needs to 'de-hydrate' the economy, fight against waste and make better use of alternative resources like waste water, argued Antoine Frérot, chief executive officer of Veolia Water, in an interview with EURACTIV.

While Europe may take better care of its water resources than other continents, it in fact uses larger quantities via imports of goods such as cotton, beans or wood, which often come from regions that already suffer from water scarcity, argues a UN expert in an interview with EURACTIV.

"Everything has to rethought in terms of the water problem," Austrian centre-right MEP Richard Seeber told EURACTIV in an interview, commenting on the unanimous adoption of his report on water scarcity and drought by Parliament's environment committee yesterday (9 September).